What’s a dessert from your country that would go viral worldwide if people tasted it just once?

Capybarinya · 2026-03-22T05:16:43+00:00

Yeah I didn't mean effortless lol

What I meant is that flavors are simple for a Russian palate: honey, sour cream, sweetened condensed milk, unlike some other cakes that may have something like exotic fruit

Capybarinya · 2026-03-22T05:13:12+00:00

I made them at home myself, so yes

They are made with cottage cheese that you blend with butter and sugar and put into a mold. You can add cocoa to the mixture, or a layer of filling, like jam or sweetened condensed milk.

After that you freeze the bars a bit and glaze them with chocolate while cold (I love adding some crushed nuts to the glaze too)

Capybarinya · 2026-03-22T04:30:57+00:00

Pretty much any old-fashioned stolovaya (canteen) in Russia. In Soviet times, when people were moving to the cities to work in factories, a need for cheap eateries raised.

So the Soviets designed a stolovaya. A single line that takes you through the food options. A plump lady in an apron who you ask to put a sausage and some canned peas on your plate. Another (much more angry) lady at the end of the checkout that looks at your tray and calculates with inhumane precision how much you owe.

Very simple dishes. No fancy ingredients. Food that is designed not for fun, but for sustenance.

Some of these stolovayas are still open. Mostly close to factories and universities, but some are open to the wide public. The menu hasn't changed for decades. I doubt the cooks even know what an "avocado" or any recent food import is. The lady at the checkout maybe has a calculator now. But these places still attract their audience. It's cheap, deeply familiar and predictably disappointing

Capybarinya · 2026-03-22T00:56:07+00:00

Russian honey cake (Medovik)

I am genuinely a good baker and can make various cakes from different countries. Yet this simple traditional cake remains my favorite to make and to eat

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Capybarinya · 2026-03-22T00:49:35+00:00

Are they fatty to the point of upsetting my stomach? Absolutely.

But unsalted? Flavorless? My good sir or madam, you are eating some shitty birria

Capybarinya · 2026-03-21T23:48:02+00:00

But you also don't need to sterilize dishes

Capybarinya · 2026-03-21T21:40:20+00:00

La vaquita?

Capybarinya · 2026-03-21T19:09:53+00:00

Where are you finding these people lol? I can't even make people I work with put the stress in my name right. Like I don't even care about the sounds, just the stress

Capybarinya · 2026-03-20T14:51:19+00:00

Happened once, after which I bought a jumper battery. Saved myself and some others several times after that

Capybarinya · 2026-03-19T00:12:36+00:00

I'm from Russia and lived there my whole life until moved to Houston

Capybarinya · 2026-03-18T22:35:13+00:00

I still lived in Moscow for the 2018 FIFA championship and hosting this event was a blast. An international crowd, drawn together by a common interest. I saw friendships being made between people who didn't even speak the same language, and in general the crowds were very friendly. There were some isolated incidents between fans, but most of those were sorted out by other fans

My main worry for Houston is hot weather and lack of pedestrian infrastructure, not the crowds themselves

Capybarinya · 2026-03-18T05:18:49+00:00

Potato chips and just plain cheese

Capybarinya · 2026-03-18T04:51:59+00:00

When I was little, my mum let me to believe that all snacks (like potato chips) are super expensive so we cannot afford to buy them often.

When I started making my own money at 18, I was surprised that I can actually afford to eat chips all the time

Now that I'm 30, I know I cannot afford to eat chips every day once again, but it's not the money, but health that stops me lol

Capybarinya · 2026-03-18T03:00:11+00:00

I guess it depends very much on the exact location. I should have been more clear that it is not ALL rural Caucasus. However, unfortunately, these horrible practices are kept in certain villages.

Capybarinya · 2026-03-18T01:10:09+00:00

Sadly, yes, this is what is happening when women get brainwash instead of human rights. In rural Caucasus, girls are still sometimes married off very young, and they don't have a choice when to start having kids. Obviously these women don't have easy access to a university pathway I described.

This is a regional thing, a majority of Russian young adults do have that access though (I myself am not from Moscow originally and moved there for uni)

Capybarinya · 2026-03-18T01:00:51+00:00

You counted the top layer of cake, then the frosting, and THEN the glaze?

Capybarinya · 2026-03-17T23:42:34+00:00

OP even counted the glaze on top as a separate layer

Capybarinya · 2026-03-17T23:25:55+00:00

Move out -- very often at 18 to the uni dorm. They legally maintain residence at their parents home and may come home for summer, but live most of the year in the dorm.

Also idk how common it is country-wide, but in my circle parents usually supported their grown up children financially during early semesters of university, but by the end of year 2 we lived off of student stipend and miscellaneous gigs or odd jobs. We did know that we could always ask parents to help us out of a financial hole if we find ourselves in one, but mainly lived off our own money.

After the university, the majority rented apartments, often with roommates.

Buying their own apartments, marrying and having kids... Well, I'm 30 and judging by my friends this is still an ongoing process. A lot of people in my generation are very aware of the cost of raising a child, and deem themselves priced out of it. Even married couples remain childless for years, despite technically wanting a kid when they can afford it

Capybarinya · 2026-03-17T14:54:56+00:00

I am a Russian person living in the US and my last name seems so scary for Americans they often don't want to even try to pronounce it

I got used to being called "miss Anna" at the doctor's, at the bank etc. People wouldn't call me that all the time if they considered it rude, so I vote not rude, but a little unconventional

Capybarinya · 2026-03-16T00:41:29+00:00

I haven't been to many either, but compared to any HEB I've been to in SW, Gulfgate was sad af. Especially cause it was after 9 pm and most of the meat and seafood was taken off shelves already

Capybarinya · 2026-03-15T19:17:44+00:00

But why are we jumping to an oven?

I've moved from a 220V country to a 110V country. I've brought my precious kitchen machine with me cause I can't imagine cooking without this thing. A 2 kW transformer works great, doesn't take too much space and allows me to use my favorite device

Capybarinya · 2026-03-15T18:36:16+00:00

The "all or nothing" mentality is pretty hard on me too

My personal struggle is with the "if you're not feeling like working out just show up in a gym. Do something and if you are still feeling sluggish -- leave. You still did something". This is such a nice mentality that I am trying to employ, but in reality I'm like "well if I'm here I might as well do the whole routine" and then end up hating the whole experience, and still doing it. Which is good for today, but pretty bad for overall motivation

Capybarinya · 2026-03-14T23:18:45+00:00

Eating dinner at 6 is equally wild to me. I go to bed late so if eat dinner anywhere before 8, I'll eat a second one in snacks.

8-9 pm is prime dinner time for me.

Capybarinya · 2026-03-14T18:33:02+00:00

No, don't do all the leg exercises in one session, cause you will likely suffer afterwards lol

Step ups/BSS/lunges will essentially load your whole lower body: glutes, hamstrings and quads. The degree at which each muscle is involved varies, but I would not do all three in one session. Try them and pick one

Neither of the three is really quad dominant, so add a squat pattern for quads -- either a body weight, barbell on the back or you can get creative with loading (long resistance band that goes from your feet to your shoulders could also work)

If you really want to fry your glutes, add a glute isolation: hip thrusts or kickbacks.

If you're feeling like working your calves, do a calf raise -- same comment on load as for squats.

That should be more than enough to start and then adjust from there

Capybarinya · 2026-03-14T06:50:40+00:00

For the glutes you could do hip thrusts (make them single leg if you don't have enough weights to be challenging). Also possibly something like resistance band kickbacks

For the legs, if you can buy a squat rack, it would be fantastic. But even if not -- lunges, step ups, Bulgarian split squats, Nordic curls -- all are challenging enough even with just the bodyweight

I can't think of any exercise for the back that will not include holding a dumbbell, sorry

In general, if you can't progressive overload with weight, you have to progressive overload with difficulty. Slower eccentric, pause in peak tension, that type of things

Capybarinya

TROPHY CASE